Bibliofile

Bibliofile will be an occasional column at The Standard, which will present bits and pieces from around the world related to the love of books.

Today’s offerings all come from Atlas Obscura, a website that features articles about sometimes little-known – but always very cool – people, places and things. “If you’re searching for miniature cities, glass flowers, books bound in human skin, gigantic flaming holes in the ground, bone churches, balancing pagodas, or homes built entirely out of paper, the Atlas Obscura is where you’ll find them.” Following is a selection of ten book-related articles that have been featured at the site:

1) Portable lighthouse libraries, distributed across the United States in the 19th century, were a common but important part of life for families living under the constant work and near-isolation of the lighthouse watch.

2) Why there are still Borders bookstores in Malaysia, or the strange case of the zombie

3) In Romania, read a book and ride the bus for free

4) Awesome Places [Arguably] Ruined by Popular Books

5) Fiction’s Newest Frontier: Literary Geocaching

6) A 400 Year Old Book Made From Feathers

7) Julian of Norwich, religious anchorite, wrote the first published book attributed to a woman in all of English literature.

8) The Obsessively Detailed Map of American Literature’s Most Epic Road Trips

9) How Book Designers Around the World Interpreted Philip K Dick’s The Man In The High Castle

10) The Museum of Miniature Books: Baku, Azerbaijan

Bibliography Week

IOBA members may not be aware of a bookish ‘event’ held in NYC every January… Bibliography Week. It’s a (loose) gathering of collectors, booksellers, and librarians who come to New York the last full week of January to participate in bookish-oriented activities, including the annual meetings for the Grolier Club, the Bibliographical Society of America, and the American Printing History Association. A more complete description of this year’s activities can be found here:

http://www.grolierclub.org/default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=289376

[Editor’s note: the structure of the Grolier’s website makes linking to individual pages tricky. This link sometimes works and sometimes does not. Googling “Bibliography Week” should lead you to the right information as well.]

As you see from perusing the link verbiage, lectures, talks, exhibits, receptions, etc all abound. And for the first time in 2012, the ABAA hosted a Bookseller Showcase for the Bib Week attendees which I expect to become an integral part of this annual event. While perhaps not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’, I bring this proceeding to your attention, especially for those in the Greater Manhattan area, for it’s a wonderful way to network & meet prominent folks in the world of Rare Books, such as Terry Belanger, RBS Founding Director & Faculty at CABS, who was to been seen at divers talks/receptions throughout the week.

Feel free to send me specific questions at vjz@tavbooks.com

Bookplates: Thomas Bird Mosher

The bookplate Mosher used in books from his personal library was designed in 1897 by Frank R. Rathbun of Auburn, New York, with the designer’s monogram of an “F” with two “R’s” mirror imaged on either side. The bookplate was part of an exhibit (entry 1371) of bookplates from the Club of Odd Volumes held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 1898. Mosher’s bookplate is described as “emblematical pictorial” in the Burnham collection. The original plate was photo-mechanically printed on Japan vellum paper from Rathbun’s original drawing, but the later scarcity and high price of Japan vellum may have necessitated Mosher’s printing of the plate on Van Gelder paper. It has been said that when Parke-Bernet auctioned the Mosher library in 1948, any of Mosher’s books that didn’t have the bookplate were given one. These plates may have been from a reserve stock Mosher had prior to his death.

According to the Honey Jar, a small 1890s Columbus, Ohio magazine which often focused on bookplates:

“First we have the plate of Thomas B. Mosher (of Bibelot fame). Concerning its origin the owner says it is drawn from the Old German. On a shield the base, sinister and dexter points of which round off into scrolls, an open book supported by two dolphins, tails entwined. Two demi-griffins of heroic size act as semi-supporters. On a ribbon beneath the shield and between a number of conventionalized flowers ‘Ex Libris Mdcccxcvij.’ Below is ‘Thomas B. Mosher.’ All within a serrated border.”

Sappe, D. C., ed. Honey Jar: A Recep-tacle for Literary Preserves. Vol. III, No. 1. (Columbus, OH: Champlin Press at the Sign of the Green Wreath, November 1899), p. 16.

IOBA Standard, Fall Edition 2008, Volume 9, No. 4.

All material is copyright of the authors. The views expressed by writers for the Standard do not necessarily reflect the views of IOBA.